Airbrushed Fridays: 2011 Topps #659

Somehow, I managed to miss pretty much every blog post and news item surrounding the release of Series 2 Topps over the past couple of weeks while I basically couldn't afford buying new cards. As a result, nearly everything I see that many others have probably dissected at least 30 times ends up being new to me.

Clint Barmes is or was a shortstop on a team where Troy Tulowitzki was and most definitely is a shortstop. This was probably seen as a strength at some point - surely a sign of organizational depth. Barmes had a non-embarrassing season once at the plate, compiling a .790 OPS in 2008. He figured heavily into the 2B mix in Colorado.

Why did Topps airbrush Clint's photo? Barmes was essentially dumped for an unimpressive pitcher (Felipe Paulino) and eventually took over at Houston's starting shortstop. He was hurt for most of spring training and missed the start of the season, so Topps likely did not have a golden opportunity to shoot him with his current club at the time the cards went into production. This is all speculation, folks!

What's wrong with this picture, anyway? So... there is this person at my work whose job includes using Photoshop to maintain/improve certain company documents that can be crucial to our business. I will leave it exactly as vague as that. But now, every time I see something that was probably altered with great effort and care, I feel compelled to call it out. In any case, Clint Barmes does not and never did wear #14 for Houston, which serves to invalidate a lot of other things. Of course, there are only so many hours in the day...

If you are interested in obtaining a card featured here, please send me an e-mail. If you have a card you would like to nominate for Airbrushed Fridays, please get in touch as well. I will require that I am able to see the card in person, either on loan or as a donation, so that I can examine the card and experience it in all its cruddiness.